


The Legend of the Paunas

by Katnchainz



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Post S2 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-06-04 01:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6635299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katnchainz/pseuds/Katnchainz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke had been missing for too long, and Lexa took it upon herself to go find Clarke. It was a time of peace, but she knew the Ice Nation was after the infamous Wanheda. What happens if someone else had been following Wanheda first?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by MargretThatcher

It was a few weeks before she found her. The scouts she had watch Camp Jaha, the night she left Clarke and the rest of Skaikru to die, informed her of Clarke’s decision to leave. The scouts, however, didn’t follow her out of a guilty respect for their departure at Mt. Weather. Lexa sent several more, but the Camp lacked the presence of the blonde for longer than the Commander felt comfortable.

After reports were heard in Polis from nearby villages, Lexa rode out, only a single guard following her, in search of the girl. Legendary Wanheda had been seen near the Death Woods. It was remarkable how easily Clarke evaded her, but she couldn’t tell if it was because Lexa was letting her out of guilt, or if Clarke was as truly adaptable as she had already proven many times over.

Clarke was stoking a fire when Lexa spotted her, not even sparing a glance to the Commander. Lexa could tell that the blonde knew she was there, purposefully ignoring her it seemed. Lexa inched slowly until she sat opposite the fire, forcing Clarke to either acknowledge her or get up and walk away. The Commander didn’t know which one would hurt more. Clarke did finally look up, her eyes looked haunted and distant, but she was alive. 

“Clarke,” Lexa spoke softly, barely audible above the crackling of the flames between them.

“Commander.” Lexa swallowed thickly, nodding her head slightly at the blow Clarke just delivered. She couldn’t understand how this title, a sign of respect among her people, sounded so horrible coming from Clarke. Lexa remained silent, waiting for Clarke to speak her mind, knowing she couldn’t even trust her own power to keep her words steady enough. She knew if she spoke, Clarke would see right through her, just as she had every time before. “What are you doing here?” 

Clarke had every right to her anger. Lexa knew this, feared it even. The Commander couldn’t afford to break her façade of being indifferent, but she couldn’t hide it from the girl in front of her. The undeniable truth was, Lexa never could.

“You’re alone Clarke.” Lexa stared at Clarke’s eyes, desperately wanting to plead for forgiveness. Something she knew she would never deserve. Her Commander mask was on, but she could never stop Clarke from seeping through the cracks, always seeing right into the girl beneath it all.

“I’ve been alone awhile.” It was a simple fact that Lexa knew all too well. While Lexa wasn’t happy about it, she couldn’t deny how proud she was at how adapted Clarke became for herself. It hadn’t even been three moons since Clarke fell from the sky, and look where the blonde was now.

Clarke’s eyes grew softer with time as she turned, looking for any guards or warriors that she knew always trailed the Commander. She could only see the one from where the Commander had walked, but she assumed there would be more. The trees were thick enough just past the clearing to hide a small army after all.

“There is only one Clarke. This is a time of Peace.” Well, there was as much peace as there ever could be for The Commander anyway. She still had 12 clans to hold together, and now that the Mountain had fallen, there was less reason for them to remain in the coalition. Lexa turned to her guard, quirking an eyebrow as she noticed him unsheathe his sword, his eyes focused on the trees. 

“Peace, right.” Clarke’s reply was cold, her eyes following that of the Commander until a familiar roar reached both of their ears. Clarke and Lexa rose in unison, glancing at each other before looking around. Lexa’s guard flinched as well, knowing full well the dangers that such a roar implied. He turned towards his Commander to run at them, but before he could lift a foot, he was attacked. 

Both the Commander’s and Clarke’s eyes widened at the familiar sight of a very large pauna landing on the man and slamming its fists on the grounder’s head. He was dead in an instant, but the beast looked up towards Clarke and Lexa, and bared its teeth before letting out another roar. Lexa drew her sword as Clarke clanked around. They were in a clearing with nowhere to go. As the animal started to charge, Clarke held up her gun and shot twice into the air, while Lexa tensed next to her, gripping her sword as if it were her lifeline. 

 

Faster than even Lexa could comprehend, another figure, this one leaner and clearly human, raced out of the trees and in front of the large beast, making a distinguished growl back at the pauna. The beast froze, as it glanced between the strange girl and Clarke and Lexa. Clarke continued to hold her pistol, alternating aiming it at the beast and the strange girl respectively, not knowing if either were safe. Clarke could not understand how the girl was able to calm the beast and not be torn apart in the process.

Lexa was just as perplexed as Clarke, edging ever so slowly to stand between the stranger and Clarke, what with them not being far enough away for the Commander to be comfortable. It was obviously clear that if the girl hadn’t come, the beast would have reached them in mere moments. The stranger started waving her hands around at the beast, whose sole focus was on the girl at this point.

Clarke’s jaw dropped as she recognized what the girl was doing. The blonde placed her hand on The Commander’s sword holding hand, and she gently pushed it down, lowering her pistol as well. The Commander glanced back at Clarke for a second, confusion plain on her face before she turned back, assessing the dangers in front of them.

The most shocking part in Lexa’s mind, but the most fascinating in Clarke’s, was the beast started to move its arms back at the girl. The girl let out a huff of a sigh, but repeated some gestures in a more exaggerated way. Even Lexa could tell the stranger was becoming frustrated.

“She’s speaking to it.” Clarke whispered out in awe. Lexa didn’t understand how any of this was something worth the blonde’s amazement, but she didn’t deny the truth of it. The Commander only stood in front of Clarke like her own life depended on it, or she could at the very least slow the girl and beast down while Clarke took off if needed. It was the least she could do after all. The stranger turned towards them, and the Commander could instantly tell she had other plans.

She was cautious of Clarke and Lexa, tilting her head to the side. The Stranger glanced back at the pauna for a second, nodding her head, and then turned back towards the girls. Her strides towards them was careful. Her eyes scanned both the Commander’s and Wanheda’s face for any traces of danger, seeming to understand fully well that they were more of a threat to her than the large animal behind her. She paused a few feet in front of the Commander, raising her hand and gesturing like she did with the pauna.

Lexa’s confusion could not be hidden, even as she attempted to keep her Commander mask in full display. “Who are you?” The Commander’s words were soaked in venom.

The stranger’s confusion was clearly written all over her body by the way she physically flinched. Clarke noticed the pauna take a step closer, its eyes narrowing at the Commander.

“She doesn’t understand, Commander.” Clarke spoke barely above a whisper, and the girl glanced towards the blonde. The stranger’s hand went to her head, turning her fist towards herself as she began shaking her head and flicked a single finger into the air.

Clarke’s eyes widened as she recognized the sign immediately. “She’s using sign language.” The Commander looked sharply back at Clarke, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“How do you know this?” The Commander practically hissed at Clarke.

Clarke continued to look at the girl, ignoring the Commander’s clear agitation. “There were a few families on the Ark who couldn’t hear. I learned a few signs as I watched them.” She raised her own hand and gestured towards the girl. –What is your name?- 

The girl’s eyes widened, but her whole face lit up as everything started to make more sense to her. She squealed, which caused Lexa to turn her glare back to the stranger, and the Commander noticed the pauna sitting back in a more neutral, but watchful way.

The girl quickly gestured her name sign, but when she saw how Clarke was confused, the girl blew raspberries and quickly moved her fingers along with the letters of her name. –Kasula- She spelt out, and again a bit slower to make sure Clarke understood, and then repeated the sign for her name, nodding proudly.

“Kasula,” Clarke breathed out. “Her name is Kasula.” She glanced back at Lexa, a wide smile on her face. The Commander looked less than pleased.

“Is she alone?” Lexa asked, looking back at the girl. Clarke had to think before she could ask that with her small knowledge of signing, but she assumed she managed to get her meaning across as the girl simply shook her head no. Kasula lifted her hands once more to sign, -Kasula not alone-. Lexa nodded, not needing to be told what was said when a simple shake of her head told her just fine.

“Commander, how do you not know of these people?” Clarke asked the girl in front of her, lifting a hand to place on her shoulder, attempting to gain her attention. She was tense, and Clarke wondered how many of her people knew where she actually was. 

“My men do not wander these parts, Clarke of the Sky people. That is why I really only brought one. I couldn’t risk any more lives if I were unable to find you.” Lexa admitted, but she didn’t turn her attention from the strange girl in front of her. “The Pauna attacks are much higher in this area.” 

Clarke nodded, “I think we’ve found out why.” She turned her focus back on Kasula whose eyes were on them expectantly. –Where do you live?- 

The girl tilted her head, and the pauna behind her rose suddenly and made a noise. The girl turned back to the beast. She returned the beast’s call, and again motioned towards it with her hands. It was evident the girl could hear, so Clarke was perplexed as to why they relied so heavily on a type of communication that lacked spoken words. Kasula turned back and sighed, and it was clear on her face that with Clarke’s question, things had turned much more dangerous for them.

The girl thought for a second and turned towards the pauna and the treeline. She let out a distinctive shout, and suddenly there were more pauna. There were an assortment of colors and sizes, which only left Lexa perplexed and Clarke amazed. Behind the pauna, there was a small group of people, all appearing to be around the age of the girl in front of them. They stared at Kasula, Clarke, and Lexa for a moment before they started to flee back from where they had come from.

Kasula let out a disgruntled cry as she raced back in the direction of the tree line, the pauna with her staring Clarke and the Commander down. With a motion of the pauna’s hands, Clarke understood it meant for them to follow it.


	2. See Notes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this is the shortest chapter ever. I apologize for it being so small and so late compared to when I first posted my fic. I didn't expect everything in life to come together in the way that it had. I know it's a pathetic excuse, and I promise this will not be the last chapter, nor fic, that I put up. I wanted to get what I had written out today in lieu of the horrible fic that was tagged in our dear ship's tags this morning. I am a sexual abuse survivor, and I can't even bring myself to look at it. I can't even imagine how some of you are taking it. So here, this is for all Clexa's!

Lexa dragged behind Clarke, her eyes scanning the trees as they passed through. Kasula seemed to have disappeared, but her puana was right in front of the Commander and Wanheda, him being the only sign of movement in the area. The silence had Lexa on edge, and although her sword was away, her grip held tighter on the handle, the further they walked.   
“This is unwise, Clarke.” Lexa whispered, her eyes once again attempting to find motion around them. The other puanas and their grounders disappeared, but to where.  
“It would be even more unwise to run, Commander.” Clarke responded, appearing much more calm than Lexa.   
As they neared where they were being led, the trees became more spread out, as if they were gently leading them home. Clarke's eyes scanned the area, while Lexa kept her eyes focused on the pauna in front of her, and her ears attuned to the trees for any signs of an ambush.   
As suddenly as the trees were gone, the pauna stopped. He didn't move, even as Clarke and Lexa gasped in awe at the sight in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to send me prompts in the meantime. I'm going to focus on drowning the fic out tonight, and I'll start writing a better chapter 2 and finish the fic tomorrow since I have the whole day off from watching my niece and nephew. <3


End file.
